B.C. NDP leadership contender John Horgan wouldn’t impose moratorium on watershed logging

He’s billing himself as his party’s environmental candidate, but NDP leadership hopeful John Horgan has said it would be “irresponsible” for him to commit to imposing a moratorium on logging in B.C.’s drinking watersheds.

“I am saying that, community by community, those decisions should be made by local representatives, by the people that are depending on the clean, fresh water, by the industry in that region, by the environmental community, by First Nations, by municipal leaders,” Horgan said in a sit-down interview at the Georgia Straight offices.

However, the Juan de Fuca MLA stressed that watershed logging is a major concern for him, especially given events in his own Vancouver Island community.

“In fact yesterday, TimberWest bought forest lands from Western Forest Products, that were broken out of a tree-farm licence by the Campbell government in 2007, that put at risk watersheds in my own community,” Horgan said on February 10. “And I am certainly standing with my community opposed to logging in those watersheds.”

Still, Horgan would not commit one way or the other on a moratorium.

“As premier, obviously the extension would have to be that, if I am vociferously opposed to that activity in my community, it would stand to reason that that would be the case in other jurisdictions as well—other communities across the province,” Horgan said.

Pressed further, Horgan said, “In the riding of Juan de Fuca I will vociferously oppose logging in those watersheds. I can’t say today, Matt, and it would be irresponsible of me to say, carte blanche, in an interview on the fourth floor of a building in Vancouver, that an activity won’t take place somewhere else, without looking at the context.”

Will Koop, coordinator of the B.C. Tap Water Alliance, told the Straight by phone today (February 15) that his group’s long-held position can still be summed up in four words: “No logging in watersheds.”

In a phone interview with the Straight, Wilderness Committee healthy communities campaigner Ben West conceded that defining what is and is not logging in watershed areas can be difficult.

However, on the issue of a moratorium, West remarked, “It seems like a no-brainer to me in terms of a policy.”

Horgan maintained he is not a “bully” but seeks consensus, something he claimed he achieved while working in the NDP government staff ranks—in the Crown corporation secretariat—after then-premier Mike Harcourt and the New Democrats of the day were swept to power in 1991 as the Social Credit government imploded.

He said an “arbitrary-control top-down approach” typically leads to people’s “lack of faith in government that there will be a due process”.

The Straight asked Horgan if it might show “leadership” to take a clear position in support of a watershed logging moratorium.

“That’s not leadership; that’s tyranny,” Horgan retorted. “That’s tyranny in my opinion.”

Koop said it should be reiterated that the province’s long-standing policy “was to protect drinking water resources”.

However, according to him, starting with the Social Credit administration, provincial governments—including those run by the NDP and B.C. Liberals—have fooled around with the legislation.

As a result, Koop said, watershed logging has continued on to this day.

“We really need a leader who is going to acknowledge the wrongs of the past, acknowledge the policy that existed, and still does in many ways,” Koop said. “Because they are still logging illegally in watershed reserves. They need to understand why the Greater Vancouver and Greater Victoria watersheds are re-protected. That’s the word—re-protected—because they once were [protected]. And so, it’s going to take somebody of very strong substance and vision to go against the industry and the bureaucrats who have been pushing this stuff.”

NDP leadership hopeful Nicholas Simons told the Straight that he opposes logging in watersheds, but would not push for a moratorium.

Simons said by phone that he believes B.C. should follow the lead of Manitoba and establish a stand-alone ministry responsible for drinking water and water resources.